Sunday, February 23, 2014

knit nordic giveaway

I'm sure you have seen this book floating around. Knit Nordic by Eline Oftedal.

I have always been a big fan of those vintage Nordic sweaters. Can you imagine finding one now? Let me just say, I learned a lot of Nordic knitting history from this book. The Norwegian word for "sweater" is "genser", which derives from the word "gansey". "Gansey" is the name of the traditional Guernsey fishermen's sweaters. The nordic design in the book all have a fascinating heritage. Some have a long history, others have a shorter one. The book was inspired by four of the classic Norwegian patterns: Marius, Setesdal, and Fana and Voss.

The Marius sweater first appeared in the 1950's but traces its roots back to the Sedesdal pattern. Handknit sweaters were the height of fashion in the postwar era. Bitten Eriksen was a knitwear designer who created designs for a wool mill. She was also the mother of the well-known skiers Stein and Marius Eriksen; Stein won a gold medal at the Oslo Winter Olympics in 1952. Bitten's husband, also named Marius, was a gymnast who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

The pieces in the book that derived from that design are a handbag, a racerback top, hotpants, a teddybear and a stocking.

The Setesdal sweater dates back to 1848 when the artist Adolph Tidemand made a sketch of a young man wearing the sweater while visiting the Setesdal valley in the southern part of Norway. The sweater was, and still is, knitted in black and white or grey and white, with a series of borders.

The pieces in the book that derived from the Setesdal pattern an ipad cover, a necktie, slippers, wristwarmers and a beanie.

The Fana sweater originates from the west coast of Norway in a region named Bergen. Bergen was the main trading town in Norway, so foreign fashions came to Bergen first before spreading to the rest of the country. Photographs of fishermen wearing this sweater n Bergen date back to the late 1800's. The Fana design is made up of a striped pattern, with a star design at the top and a checkered pattern at the bottom.

The pieces in the book that are derived from the Fana design are a beret, a half-sweater and a cup and coffee cozy.

The Voss sweater is a relatively new pattern in knitting, but has been around for centuries in embroidery. This design is geometrical and often includes squares with a pattern inside.
The pieces in knit nordic that are derived from the Voss design are a toilet roll cover, potholders, a snood, a cushion cover and an iphone cover.

The techniques section in the back of the book, highlights many needs of a knitter. Especially one getting started with nordic knitting and is a great reference to have on file.

If interested in winning a copy of knit nordic, please leave a comment before Wednesday the 26th, 9am EST. I'll have the random number generator choose a name.

Wow! This book is most definetly on my wish list...in case I do not win it. I really need to expand my knitting skills. Actually, knitting anything that is not a square or a rectangle might be considered increasing my skills. :) We grew up with a Norwegian family living across the street. Oly worked for the Red and White tug boat and ferry fleet on the SF bay and Tully was a stay at home mom. The only thing that surpassed her cooking was her handwork and I love, love, love the colors and the delicacy of her work. We used to spend Sunday afternoons eating, laughing and dancing at the Aarstad's house. Thank you for bringing me back to such sweet memories. ~Kelly

Oh please, oh please, R#G, pick me! Oh what a wonderful book. Now that I'm stuck in a knitting wasteland, I hadn't heard of this book and I'm so happy for your review. Thank you for the giveaway! (bigblueice on ravelry)

I love the look of nordic style knitting. My husband almost gave away a pair of Norwegian mittens to goodwill, and I said " noooo!!!!" I saved them, and wear them all the time. The warmest mittens ever!

A thousand thanks for telling me about this amazing book. I've often thought of trying some Nordic knitting because my heritage on my Mom's side is Nordic, but taking on a whole sweater seemed overwhelming. What a great way to dip a toe into this challenging knitting, starting with a cozy or cowl, and then progressing to the beautiful half sweater. Hope you pick me to win this incredible book!

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Having started knitting only a year ago I'm keen on trying some new techniques, among then Nordic Knitting. (I'm a 47yo male, btw, and my youngest daughter is to blame for my latest obsession that is knitting.) This book looks like a real nice introduction with some easy to make, useful patterns to try with Nordic, like an iPad cover. Too bad I didn't discover this blog a few days ago :) Ah well, I can always order the book.